Into The Gray
by tjmack
Summary: "I'm sorry." He mumbled out, before wiping his sleeve against his face. "I shouldn't have been so..." his sentence fell off. He didn't even know how to put his feelings into words. "You're nothing like her. You're good and she...isn't." His voice broke on the last word.


_**A/N:** _So...this came to me after watching the OUAT promo for like the hundredth time. Tomorrow cannot come fast enough! This was my way of writing a little Charming Family fluff...which I haven't written nearly enough of. Dedicated to Dani-Ellie03 for always pushing me to write my odd little ramblings down into FF. Enjoy! Remember to hit up that little section at the bottom and let me know what you think of this!

* * *

Emma stared straight ahead, glaring at Regina as she took a stoic step forward. She pointed the small sword in her hand directly at Regina. It was the only warning she was willing to give. The others, her family, they were busy trying to ward off Cora, to try to retrieve the dagger.

"Regina, I swear, I will use this."

She smirked, her dark red lips quirking up in a way that said she was calling Emma's bluff. "What would Henry say if you hurt me, _Emma_?"

Emma's lip pulled back instinctively, "You leave Henry out of this. The moment you aligned yourself with your mother, is the moment you lost all right to _my son_."

Regina growled as she took a few more deliberate steps toward Emma. She almost had Emma exactly where she wanted her, all Regina had to do was keep her cool. Though, Regina did have to tip her hat, if only slightly, at Emma's ability to burrow deep under her skin. The woman had always been a thorn in Regina's side. Though it appeared the more that Emma was around her dreadful mother, the more that Emma seemed to become Snow White. The thought infuriated Regina to no end.

"You threw him away. You have no right to Henry, and you know it."

Emma smirked as she changed her handle on the small sword only slightly. "After he sees what you've done. After he sees that you've hurt his _family_ he will pick me, and you know that. You cannot win his love and affection, Regina. That is something that you earn...and that, unfortunately, is something you lost with him a long, long time ago. Maybe if you would have concentrated more on Henry's happiness than your own, perhaps he would love you."

Regina's lips curled into a furious growl as she leapt forward. Her plan completely forgotten, as her hands wound around Emma's throat. "Once I kill you, he'll have no choice but to love me."

"Kill me all you want, Regina. Just remember, it will never make him love you."

Regina's thumbs crashed down on Emma's esophagus, cutting off the air to her lungs. Emma started to jab toward Regina with the small sword in her hand. Without a clear view of where she was aiming for, Emma couldn't hit her target. Gasping for any kind of air that would make the burning in her lungs dissipate, Emma lunged her arm forward once more. She felt as the sword sliced something, causing Regina to gasp. Her hands dropped from Emma's neck, forcing Emma to fall to her knees.

With her hands planted on the floor, Emma gasped, trying to pull air into her lungs. Slowly, her breathing started to even out. Emma glanced up, noting the Regina had climbed back to her feet. Blood was trickling slowly from a wound on Regina's side. She placed a hand over the wound, slowly moving in a downward action, before pulling her hand away. Emma gaped, her mouth hanging open, as the wound disappeared from view.

"Magic is quite a wonderful thing, Miss Swan." Regina taunted, as she stalked forward.

Emma shoved herself into a kneeling position with her hand, before lunging forward. Her arms wrapped around Regina's middle in an attempt to tackle her to the ground. Regina merely shoved her hands against Emma's shoulders, pushing Emma off of her. It sent Emma sprawling to the floor, her head bouncing hard off the tiled floor.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Emma heard her mother cry out, but the haze that seemed to take over every other part of her mind, stopped her from replying to her mother. Her vision swam as she watched Regina pick something up from the floor. Deep down, Emma knew exactly what it was. She cringed as she waited for the woman to attack her with the sword. Her vision cleared slightly, and Emma swore that she saw something that resembled fear cloud Regina's eyes. In a last ditch effort, Regina threw the sword toward Emma, before disappearing in a cloud of purple smoke.

Emma cried out, the pain almost dulled by the cloudiness of her brain. She tried to stay conscious, to at least let her family know that she was okay, but the pain coupled with the concussion deemed for too much trauma for her body. Her last conscious thought was that Henry was safe, as her body slumped to the floor.

* * *

Emma's eyes blinked open, she felt like she had only been out for a few minutes. Her entire body hurt, but the throbbing in her head seemed to take precedence. Through slitted eyes, Emma looked around the room, half expecting to still be lying on the floor in Gold's shop. She was surprised to find herself in the hospital.

"Mmhmm." Emma moaned, as she tried to readjust herself.

"Hey,sleepyhead." Snow called out.

Emma craned her neck, and smiled at her. It was at that moment that Emma realized that she had some pain killers blazing through her system. "How long?" She finally asked.

Snow eyed the clock for a moment, before looking back at Emma. "Just over six hours. Whale had to do emergency surgery. When Regina threw the sword at you, it hit an artery."

Emma nodded as she took in the information before a thought hit her. "Henry?"

Snow smiled, "He's out in the waiting room with James." Snow coughed awkwardly, as she stared at the wall. "Neal...he was here for a few hours, but he had to leave to check on his father."

Emma sighed, as she took in that information. She knew that it didn't change anything. Didn't change the fact that he had left her, deserted her and let her go to prison for something that he did. "That's nice." Snow eyed Emma softly, and Emma could practically hear the wheels turning in Snow's mind. "What?"

Snow shrugged, "It just seems like he's trying awfully hard, Emma."

Emma nose wrinkled, "Don't care. There are multiple reasons that I shouldn't have that man in my life. Number one being the fact that he abandoned me and let me go to prison for him, and let's not forget the newest reason...he's engaged."

Snow's eyes widened slightly, "I didn't realize...he didn't bring anyone back with him."

Emma smiled, "Yeah...not sure why..." Emma yawned softly.

"Why don't you get some sleep?" Snow prompted.

Emma sighed, "I wanted to talk to Henry."

Snow pulled the blanket up around Emma's shoulders "He isn't going anywhere, Emma. He will be the first one to talk to you when you wake up."

Emma opened her mouth to protest, even as her eyes started to drag close. "Okay." She mumbled softly as her eyes drifted close.

Snow waited until Emma's breathing evened out, before placing a chaste kiss to Emma's forehead. "I love you, my sweet baby girl."

* * *

Emma moaned herself awake. She blinked sluggishly. A smile crossed her drug-induced lips, as she reached out a hand to her son. "You 'kay?" She mumbled lazily.

Henry nodded, before realizing that Emma couldn't actually see him. Her eyes have slipped close again. Walking closer to the bed, Henry sat down on the chair that he had seen his grandmother sit in before. Reaching forward, Henry grabbed a hold of Emma's hand. A tear slipped down his cheek, as he realized how close he had come to losing his mother. In that moment he realized the vast difference between Regina and Emma, and it killed him to know that he had been punishing Emma for something she did to protect him.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled out, before wiping his sleeve against his face. "I shouldn't have been so..." his sentence fell off. He didn't even know how to put his feelings into words. Everything had changed...it was all so different. Nothing happened the way that he had assumed that it would. "You're nothing like _her_. You're good and she...isn't." His voice broke on the last word.

He had really wanted to believe her when she said that she was willing to change. That she was willing to give up everything that made her so..._evil_, but he had only been kidding himself. Really, he should have known better. He had read that book cover to cover so many times that he could probably recite the whole thing word for word. Henry knew how many changes that his grandparents had given Regina, how many times they had allowed her to change. Each and every time she had chosen the easier path. The path of vengeance and revenge.

"Henry." Emma moaned out, causing his head to lift. "You don't need to apologize, kid. It was my fault."

He shook his head back and forth as more tears clouded his vision. "It was my choice to be so angry at you. It was my choice to not ask you _why_ you chose to keep the truth from me." He sniffled loudly, swiping angrily at the tears, "And it was my choice to compare you to someone who has lost their last chance for forgiveness."

Emma sighed as she untangled her hand from his. Reaching out, Emma ran her hand against Henry's cheek. "You did what anyone other eleven-year-old would do, Henry. When children are hurting, they lash out. Did it hurt? Yes, but I expected it. You had every right to be angry with me, Henry. I chose to lie to you, and that choice wasn't entirely unselfish."

Henry's brow wrinkled slightly, "What do you mean?"

Emma smiled sadly, as she fumbled with the button on the bed to pull her into a sitting position. "When you asked me about your father, my first instinct was to lie. I knew how badly Neal had hurt me, and I couldn't stand the thought that he could do the same to you. That is the unselfish part, but then there is the fact that I never had the expectation that I would ever see Neal again. I never wanted to, and the thought that you would want to meet him...that you would want me to find him...to see him. I panicked, Henry. I couldn't stand the thought of looking Neal in the eye again. Not after everything he did to me."

Henry swallowed thickly as he took in this new information, "What did he do?" He asked softly. Emma's mouth moved to open, as Henry held up a hand, "Please, tell me the truth this time. I can handle it, I promise."

Emma nodded, grimacing at the ache it caused in her head. "He broke my heart, Henry. I thought he loved me, and he left me..." She sighed, as she tried to figure out if she should leave it at a half-truth or if she should go for the full thing. Emma knew that if Henry went to Neal with what she had told him, that he would likely finish the story. She didn't want Henry angry at her anymore, causing her to decide to go for it. "Henry, your father is the reason that I was in prison." His eyes widened slightly, "He turned me in for a crime that he committed."

Henry shook his head, "I can't believe this." His face went pale for a moment, before he looked at her. "I get it now. I get why you didn't want to tell me about him." Henry nodded, a solemn look on his face, "But...I think maybe...he's better now?"

Emma smiled softly, "Yeah, Henry, he's better now."

Henry smiled back at her, "Thank you, mom, for being honest with me." He stood up from the chair, before pulling himself up onto the hospital bed. "It was really hard to be mad at you, for what it's worth."

Emma laughed lightly, "It's worth a lot, kid. More than you know." Emma held her arms open, as Henry snuggled against her chest. Emma pressed a kiss to his hair, her eyes closed, happiness overtaking her. "I love you so much, Henry."

Henry smiled broadly against her shoulder, "I love you too, mom."

Emma ran her fingers through Henry's hair as sleep slowly overtook her, slowing her breathing until it evened out.


End file.
